There are many in this world who struggle to make ends meet, and not every child is fortunate enough to have parents who are able to afford their school fees.
Such is the case of Rehan, a young boy in Indonesia who resorted to working as a street clown in order to earn a living to support his family.
9-year-old Boy Works As Mascot To Support Family
The 9-year-old’s situation came to light after Instagram user @rhmadii__ conversed with him, and thereafter shared his plight on his account. The post also featured a photo montage of Rehan, clad in a Tom and Jerry mascot costume as he sat by the roadside.
Here are some images shared of Rehan:
Image source: Instagram screengrab/rhmadii__
Image source: Instagram screengrab/rhmadii__
9-year-old boy works as mascot to support family, looking visibly tired. Image source: Instagram screengrab/rhmadii__
Image source: Instagram screengrab/rhmadii__
Visibly exhausted in the photos, it is said that Rehan has to wake up early in the morning and walk 10 km every day as he heads to the busy Jalan Gatot Subroto in South Kalimantan to work in a costumed mascot.
The 9-year-old’s job entails entertaining drivers who are stuck in traffic or office workers en route to their workplaces. In order to appeal to crowds at the attraction, Rehan said he makes use of attention-drawing acts such as “little jogging”.
He also reveals that he changes his costumes daily to keep performances fresh for his audience. The costume selections made available to him include cartoon character designs such as Dora the Explorer, Upin and Ipin, Spongebob Squarepants and more.
As to why he decided to work as a street clown, Rehan confessed that it allows him to fulfill his daily needs. The pay he draws enables him to pay for his meals, contribute to home rental fees, and if in excess, his school fees—which he “deliberately set aside for”.
He admits that the money is “not bad” which allows him to buy packaged rice home.
Although his mother is working, Rehan says the income she draws from working odd jobs is only enough to pay for the home rental. While the 9-year-old admitted that walking 10 km to work can be tiring, being able to provide additional support to his mother made him happy.
He also shared that he chose to start walking early in the morning—sometimes before dawn—in efforts to avoid the traffic jam, leaving time for him to return back home in the afternoon to play football.
You can view Rehan’s full post here:
View this post on Instagram
EDISI KEHIDUPAN…. Setiap hari, Rehan harus bangun pagi-pagi betul agar atraksinya bisa disaksikan oleh para pekerja kantoran dan warga disekitar jalan Gatot Subroto… Bagi sebagian orang, atraksi badut jalanan yang disuguhkan Rehan dinilai ampuh untuk mengusir rasa suntuk di tengah padatnya jalan Gatot subroto. Namun, ada beberapa hal penting yang luput dari pikiran mereka. Pertunjukkan yang mereka anggap menarik itu sebetulnya dilakukan oleh anak di bawah umur, bahkan termasuk dalam kategori eksploitasi anak. Menurut pengakuan Rehan, keputusannya menjadi Badut jalanan didasari oleh motif ekonomi agar ia bisa memenuhi kebutuhan sehari-hari. Ibunya yang bekerja serabutan hanya mampu mengumpulkan uang untuk membayar biaya sewa kontrakan. Jika ada rejeki berlebih, uang tersebut sengaja disisihkan untuk biaya sekolahnya. “Uangnya lumayan. Bisa buat beli Nasi bungkus untuk dibawa pulang ke rumah,” tutur Rehan Agar atraksinya menarik perhatian banyak orang, Rehan memperlihatkan jogetan kecilnya. Sementara untuk urusan kostum dan kepala boneka, Rehan mengaku selalu mengganti kostumnya setiap hari. Sang penyedia kostum juga menyediakan beberapa pilihan kepala boneka yang didesain menyerupai tokoh-tokoh kartun, mulai dari Dora the Explorer, Upin dan Ipin, hingga Spongebob Squarepants. Kepala dan bajunya saya sewa. Saya tidak tahu biayanya, karena ibu yang membayar,” ungkap Rehan sembari menyeka keringat yang menetes di kelopak matanya. Setiap hari Rehan memang sengaja berangkat pagi-pagi buta, bahkan sebelum mentari pagi bersinar. Selain mengincar mobil-mobil yang terjebak macet, ia ingin menyisihkan waktu di sore hari untuk bermain bola di rumah. Lepas Sholat Isya saya biasanya langsung pulang ke rumah bersama ibu setelah ibu selesai beberes kebersihan halaman Alfamart jl. Gatot subroto kata Rehan Namun saat ditanya, apakah ia dan ibunya nyaman dengan profesi mereka saat ini, Rehan mengaku senang dapat membantu memberikan uang tambahan kepada ibunya. Kendati demikian, Rehan tidak memungkiri bahwa terkadang ia merasa lelah karena harus berjalan hingga sejauh 10 km dari rumahnya.
A post shared by KONTEN INSPIRATIF (@rhmadii__) on
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